Pets reduced couple to being prisoners in their own home

Steve Burgess and Rhiannon McHugh of Hangleton, Hove were prepared to face financial ruin and mental breakdown rather than give up their beloved pets who they were unable to leave at any time. Their two dogs, Dillon and Ziggy, cost them thousands of pounds and drove Rhiannon to the very brink of a nervous breakdown.

‘I was literally a prisoner in my own home, not going out for over three months except to exercise the dogs’ says Rhiannon. 

Thankfully the dogs abysmal behaviour is a thing of the past and following canine therapy, Ziggy and Dillon are now happy, well-behaved chappies. 

Steve acquired Dillon, a Jack Russell cross Yorkshire Terrier 3 years ago as a student.  Dillon was 8 weeks old at the time and due to be put down.  A year later he rescued Ziggy, a Saluki/Greyhound cross when he came across him in very poor condition with bald patches and seriously mal-nourished.  At this time Steve and Rhiannon shared a house, along with another flat mate whilst at college in South Wales.  All three adored the dogs even though it soon became clear that trouble lay ahead. 

‘Ziggy and Dillon would howl whenever they were left and could keep up this phenomenal noise for hours’ explains Steve.  ‘You really could hear them at the end of the street, it was unbearable for the neighbours’. 

On top of this, Ziggy took to ripping up the lino, destroying the kitchen door and literally chewing the doorframe off the wall, as well as toileting in the house whenever left.  He was also an escape artist and on one occasion he climbed a wall to get on to a flat roof and then leapt off the other side.  Other anti-social habits of this duo included growling at people and showing signs of aggression. 

‘When we were at college it wasn’t too bad, we just never left the dogs alone.  Our flat mate was about during the day and we had lots of friends who loved the dogs, so someone was usually happy to dog-sit if Rhiannon and I wanted to go out’ says Steve. 

The problems really kicked in when Steve and Rhiannon finished college and moved down to Hove where Steve had accepted a civil engineering job. 

The couple decided that it just wasn’t possible to leave the dogs because of the terrible noise and damage they caused, so Rhiannon agreed to stay at home with the dogs rather than look for a job.  This was despite the fact that they couldn’t really afford to live on just one salary and Rhiannon desperately wanted to get out and meet people. 

‘It really is true that for three months the only friend I had in Hove was the NTL man’ she laughs. 

Rhiannon admits that she was on the brink of a nervous breakdown, if not in the early stages of one, and having suffered from agoraphobia in the past was very worried that it might return. 

‘My family told me that I was mad to risk my own health for the sake of two animals, but I just didn’t see any alternative.  We had tried everything to stop the dogs howling, chewing and toileting in the house when we were out, but nothing we tried had worked’. 

Rhiannon eventually realised that the situation was crazy and that she had to put herself first or she really would go mad.  This prompted the couple to call in Kim Lummis, a dog trainer with home dog training company Bark Busters and this proved to be the turning point. 

‘We had read everything we could find on dog training and seemed to have tried every technique under the sun, but nothing had worked, so we decided to give Bark Busters a try.  I can’t imagine what Kim must have made of us – not only were the dogs causing huge problems, but I was a total mess, completely desperate and knowing I was spiralling towards a nervous breakdown – it wasn’t a pretty sight I can tell you’ says Rhiannon. 

Kim worked with the couple and put a training programme in place, which gradually sorted the dogs out and has resulted in a happy, peaceful household. 

“The two dogs were really having such an adverse affect on Rhiannon and Steve’s lives, and they had got to the point where enough was enough.  We worked on several aspects; how they communicated with the dogs, how they left them, as well as a change in diet.  This was one instance where it took time and it was certainly no easy job. Rhiannon and Steve have been great people to work with, they love their dogs so much they were not going to give up on them.  Gradually with time and consistency from everyone in the house, the results speak for themselves.  Steve and Rhiannon are now at the point that the dogs can be left without the risk of howling or destruction of old.” Kim explains. 

Rhiannon now realises that many of the problems stemmed from they way that she had treated the dogs. 

‘I did think of the dogs as my babies and I certainly didn’t know how to communicate with them effectively.  It really is all down to the owners how well-behaved their dogs are and how much pleasure they therefore get from them. Kim worked with us so that the dogs understood us and therefore  respected us as their leaders.  I can now see that they had no respect for me at all before the training began’ she laughs. 

The couple can’t contain their delight at the results and the difference it has made to their lives. 

‘We are amazed at the improvement in the dogs; at Christmas we left them on their own for 4 or 5 hours and we recorded the noise – there really wasn’t any!  In general when we are out, they only bark if they hear something, but they stop within a few minutes and there is no howling at all and certainly no destruction or toileting’. 

For Rhiannon the changes in the dogs and in herself are unbelievable. 

‘The difference in the dogs behaviour is truly amazing, not only can we leave them alone but they are so much better in all ways and don’t even pull on the  lead anymore.  In the past everything about them drove me bonkers and they were not a pleasure at all, I just resented them all the time.  Now I can really enjoy them again and know that I am a good owner. I feel like a different person, brimming with confidence and feeling that I have a new-found strength about me’. 

Since the training, Rhiannon has gone out and found herself a job.  She now happily goes out to work, leaving the dogs home alone. 

As Kim says “this is one of those stories which makes this job so worthwhile.  We now have a situation where not only the dogs are happier but the stress for Steve and Rhiannon has eased and they can actually enjoy their new life by the sea.” 

Bark Busters, the world’s largest, most trusted dog training company, started in Australia in 1989 and came to the United Kingdom in 1999. Since inception, over 400,000 dogs have been trained worldwide. With more than 230 offices in eight countries, Bark Busters is continuing its mission to build a global network of dog behavioural therapists to enhance responsible dog ownership and reduce the possibility of maltreatment, abandonment, and euthanasia of companion dogs. Bark Busters is the only international dog training company that offers a lifetime guarantee. Therapists will provide future sessions free of charge if problem behaviours recur, or if any new problems develop. For more information, call 0808 100 4071 or visit www.barkbusters.co.uk, where dog owners can complete a Dog Behavioural Quiz to rate their dogs’ behaviour.